April 2012

International language conference lands in Leeds

An international conference exploring research and experience in language teaching is to be held at Leeds Metropolitan University on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 September 2012.

The Languages in the Globalised World event, held at the Gandhi Hall at the Universitys Headingley Campus, will provide a forum for teachers and researchers to exchange their findings, experiences and perspectives on teaching, learning and skills development in languages, whilst discussing the usefulness of multilingual ability and multiculturalism in a globalised world. Organiser, Dr Theophile Munyangeyo, commented: This is the first international conference on multilingualism that the School of Languages at Leeds Metropolitan has ever held. We look forward to welcoming delegates from all over the world, including very reputable languages services providers and publishers who will host stands. The conference will serve as a forum for discussion on how language teaching can be developed in the future, as the increasingly global nature of business and the competitive jobs market means that language skills can boost employability. At Leeds Met we are very keen to share and learn from expertise and best practice from across the world, exploring ways that we can continue to provide the life-long learning of languages.

The conference will bring together academics, teacher trainers, materials development experts and language in a multilingual setting, including guest

speakers, Professor Angela Creese of the University of Birmingham, Professor Michael McCarthy of the University of Nottingham and Professor Myriam Salama-Carr of the University of Salford; a roundtable discussion and paper and poster presentations.

Abstracts of articles studying any language, spoken in any country in the world, including minority and endangered languages, are welcomed and should be submitted by email to LGW@leedsmet.ac.uk by Friday 1 June. Places at the conference are 195 and can be booked at http://onlinestore.leedsmet.ac.uk A.J.Batty@leedsmet.ac.uk For more information, please contact

Ends

For further details please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the Communications team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email c.braithwaite@leedsmet.ac.uk

Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has over 25,000 students and around 3,000 staff. The Vice Chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University is Professor Susan Price and the Chair of the Board is Lord Woolmer of Leeds. Leeds Metropolitans four faculties are: Arts, Environment and Technology, Business & Law, Health and Social Sciences, and Carnegie. Leeds Metropolitans heritage can be traced back to the founding of the Mechanics Institute in Leeds in 1824. International students rated the University top in the UK for language support, accommodation quality and learning spaces in the 2010 Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and sixth in the

world for the quality of its lectures. We have over 1,500 international students from 122 countries around the globe. The Universitys award-winning learning environments include

Broadcasting Place, which was voted the best tall building in the world in 2010 by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and also winner of the 2010 Leeds Architecture Awards New Building category.